Looking at the excited expressions of the children, Elder Xuan's stern face softened slightly.
He spoke calmly, "You are the most outstanding talents among the core disciples. I hope to see each and every one of you in the Inner Court in the future."
Xu Sanshi grinned. "Don't worry, Elder Xuan. We'll definitely make it into the Inner Court."
Although the others weren't as openly expressive as Xu Sanshi, they all showed firm determination in their expressions.
Elder Xuan didn't waste time and continued, "There's only one month left until the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Starting today, each of you will train with me one day a week."
"I will bring you to train alongside the Shrek Seven Devils who will participate in the tournament. I hope you seize this precious opportunity and improve your strength as much as possible."
The seven of them nodded eagerly and responded in unison, "Understood!"
They weren't just excited about the chance to participate in the tournament—they were even more thrilled at the opportunity to train with Zhou Sicheng.
Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue naturally didn't need to say anything. Having trained separately from their eldest brother for more than a year, they missed him greatly.
Bei Bei was excited because he knew Zhou Sicheng had been taken in as a disciple by Elder Xuan. Having previously trained with Zhou Sicheng under Elder Xuan's guidance, he was well aware of how terrifying Zhou Sicheng's strength was. He was looking forward to cooperating with him again.
He Caitou felt the same way. While much of his rapid advancement to a Tier 4 Soul Engineer was due to Fan Yu's patient guidance, Zhou Sicheng's help had also been invaluable.
He Caitou had long hoped to work alongside Zhou Sicheng.
Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan had only gotten to know Zhou Sicheng through Bei Bei and the others. To them, he was a mysterious figure, and they weren't even sure whether he would be part of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils.
So, they had no additional thoughts—just pure excitement at the chance to join the tournament.
Wang Dong felt similarly. She didn't know much about Zhou Sicheng either, though she had her suspicions.
Regardless, everyone cherished this opportunity—especially being able to receive guidance from Elder Xuan, a superpower in his own right.
Unaware of everyone's various thoughts, Elder Xuan continued, "You being selected as the reserve team is confidential. You're not allowed to speak of it to anyone. If you do, your qualifications will be revoked."
Everyone responded loudly, "Yes, sir!"
Elder Xuan looked over the group, and his gaze finally landed on Cao Jinxuan, Long Xiangyue, and Wang Dong. "To ensure victory, it normally wouldn't be allowed for second-year students to join the reserve team. However, your performances were truly outstanding."
"Wang Dong's second soul ring is of the thousand-year level. Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue have already reached Soul Ancestor level despite their age. I won't ask how you've advanced so quickly, but whether you can maintain your spot on the reserve team for the next five years depends on your own efforts."
Then, he looked at everyone again. "You may be the strongest among the current batch of core disciples, but the Outer Court is full of others eyeing your positions. In the future, it's entirely possible that geniuses even more talented than you will emerge."
"So don't think your positions are secure. If I find that any of you can't perform up to standard, I won't hesitate to replace you. Do you understand?"
The seven exchanged glances and nodded firmly. "Understood!"
Wang Dong clenched her fists tightly. Before coming to Shrek Academy, she never imagined she'd meet peers who could challenge her.
After all, despite her seemingly lazy attitude toward cultivation, her second soul ring was already a thousand-year one. In the Clear Sky Sect, aside from her two fathers, who could even compare to her?
Now, having witnessed the terrifying strength of Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue, her competitive spirit flared. After all, they were her real peers!
Cao Jinxuan was thirteen, and Long Xiangyue was only twelve—just one month older than her.
Yet the soul power gap between them and her was nearly ten levels! Still, she firmly believed that one day, she would surpass these two brothers.
Elder Xuan glanced at the group. "Although you are now reserve team members, you still need to select a team captain and vice-captain. I'll give you one week. By the time we meet again, I expect an answer."
With that, Elder Xuan waved his hand. "You're dismissed."
After learning the list of reserve team members, Zhou Sicheng wasn't surprised. With Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue's strength, it was inevitable they would win.
Because of this, Zhou Sicheng made a special trip to the Outer Court to check in on Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, offering them a few comforting words.
Moved by Zhou Sicheng's encouragement, Huo Yuhao became even more determined. "Brother Zhou, I've reached two soul rings now. I can stay at the academy based on my own merit. I'll work even harder from now on—I won't let you down!"
Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously. "Me too!"
Wang Dong remained silent as she watched her two companions. Because of confidentiality, she couldn't tell them what really happened. But in her heart, she sincerely wished for the best for both of them.
After reassuring them, Zhou Sicheng leisurely headed off to find Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue.
He hadn't gotten far when a voice called out behind him.
"Senior!"
Zhou Sicheng paused and turned around. Wang Dong was running toward him.
She hesitated, then quietly asked, "Senior, are you one of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils?"
Zhou Sicheng smiled faintly. "What makes you think that? I've never shown my true strength."
Wang Dong guessed, "Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue are both so powerful, yet they respect you deeply. I think you must be a super-genius too, right?"
His smile remained unchanged. "Whether I am or not doesn't matter. If you want to know the answer, you'll understand once you enter the Inner Court."
Wang Dong nodded, her suspicions all but confirmed.
"Senior, thank you for looking after Yuhao. He's working so hard. After you left just now, he cried and said he let you down…"
She rambled on for a while, and Zhou Sicheng just quietly listened. Finally, Wang Dong said, "If possible, I hope you can continue helping him. Aside from Senior Brother Bei Bei and Teacher Xiao Ya, you're the person he listens to most."
Zhou Sicheng gently patted her on the shoulder. "It seems you two are close. On Yuhao's behalf, thank you for your concern."
Wang Dong opened her mouth to speak—but why did she feel like she was the outsider here?
She and Huo Yuhao were both Tang Sect disciples. Weren't they supposed to be like family?
Zhou Sicheng said softly, "I heard that you and Yuhao have a 100% compatibility rate with your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Training together will yield twice the results with half the effort. So in a way, you're his greatest support. Understand?"
Those words stunned Wang Dong for a moment.
Zhou Sicheng's soul tool flashed with light as he handed her two round spheres—one blue-gold, the other silver-white.
"As thanks, these are for you. Choose one for yourself and give the other to Yuhao."
With that, he smiled and turned to leave. "I've got things to do. See you around."
Wang Dong took the spheres and looked at Zhou Sicheng's departing figure, a strange emotion rising in her heart.
Though she disliked soul tools, she'd learned enough to recognize what these were. Despite looking like mere decorations, they were actually top-tier, Grade 5 Defensive Soul Tools.
To casually give them as gifts—was Huo Yuhao actually Zhou Sicheng's long-lost brother?
Though Yuhao had never shared the details of how he met Zhou Sicheng, Wang Dong couldn't help but feel that Zhou treated him too well.
He taught Yuhao how to cultivate, trained him in soul tools, gave him cultivation resources, and even equipped him with advanced soul tools…
If Zhou Sicheng weren't clearly still young, she might have suspected that Huo Yuhao was his illegitimate son!
Two top-tier Grade 5 defensive soul tools—their value was self-evident.
After a long while, Wang Dong chose to keep the blue-gold sphere and wore it around her waist like a sachet.
She gave the silver-white one to Huo Yuhao. When he received it, he was once again moved to tears.
As a Soul Engineer, how could he not recognize the value of such a top-tier Grade 5 trigger-activated defensive barrier?
Huo Yuhao didn't know why Brother Zhou treated him so well, but he would remember all this help—and repay it tenfold in the future.
Although Zhou Sicheng didn't know what Huo Yuhao was thinking deep down, he knew that his objective had already been achieved.
Those two soul tools were indeed quite valuable. Besides being able to protect them at critical moments, Zhou Sicheng had embedded a fragment of the [Adaptive Core] into each one.
In an emergency, he could use those fragments to pinpoint their locations—of course, only as long as they kept the soul tools on them.
Zhou Sicheng had done this merely as a precaution.
As for what he was guarding against, only Zhou Sicheng himself knew the answer.
When he arrived at the pavilion by Sea God Lake, he found Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue waiting there. As soon as they saw him, both of them smiled.
"Brother!"
Zhou Sicheng smiled slightly. "Ah Xuan, Ah Yue, congratulations on making it into the preliminaries."
Joy lit up their faces. "It's all thanks to your help, Big Brother. That's the only reason we were able to improve so much."
Zhou Sicheng nodded at the two. Both had absorbed spirit rings above their level. Cao Jinxuan was now at Rank 43, and Long Xiangyue at Rank 42—on par with Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei.
Zhou Sicheng said, "No matter what, your own effort was indispensable. In this upcoming tournament, make sure you perform well. Try to earn as many Shrek Academy resources as you can. If you keep accumulating from different channels, your cultivation speed will increase dramatically."
Both nodded solemnly. "Understood!"
Long Xiangyue then asked sneakily, "Big Brother, are you the captain of the Seven Monsters this time?"
Zhou Sicheng nodded without hiding it. "Do your best when the time comes. That way, I'll be able to secure more resources for you as well."
Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue nodded heavily. "Don't worry, Big Brother. We may not be as strong as you and Sister Guyi, but with our current strength, we can dominate the outer courtyard. In the future, we'll definitely catch up to both of you and become your strongest support!"
Zhou Sicheng chuckled. "Not just the two of you—there are plenty of other geniuses in the outer courtyard. Try to rope in as many as you can. The more people we have, the stronger we become."
Hearing this, Long Xiangyue gave a mischievous grin and leaned in close to Zhou Sicheng. "Big Brother, let me tell you something—Ning Tian seems to be interested in Second Brother. She's been secretly inviting him out a lot lately!"
Zhou Sicheng looked at Cao Jinxuan with a satisfied expression.
Cao Jinxuan rolled his eyes. "Big Brother, don't listen to this brat spouting nonsense. Ning Tian just wants to recruit me into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Her idea isn't much different from ours—looking for talented seedlings within the academy."
Long Xiangyue curled his lips. "Just recruitment? Then why does she keep giving you gifts every few days? Even that tomboy Wu Feng told me—"
Before he could finish, Cao Jinxuan kicked him flying. "All you ever think about is romance! Without me watching your back, those girls would've played you like a lute!"
Long Xiangyue remained confident. "Second Brother, they're just admiring my charm, okay? Are you jealous?"
Listening to their bickering, Zhou Sicheng gently patted Long Xiangyue's shoulder. "You… you really should listen to Ah Xuan more. With a brain like yours, you'd better cut back on those romance novels."
Cao Jinxuan couldn't hold back a laugh.
Long Xiangyue looked innocent. "Big Brother, come on! You've got to believe me!"
Zhou Sicheng waved his hand. "I believe you, I believe you. No need to explain."
As he spoke, he handed a small soul tool to Cao Jinxuan. "This contains a few soul tools I prepared for you both. There are instructions inside too. Take some time to familiarize yourselves with them."
Cao Jinxuan nodded seriously. "Understood."
Although he and Long Xiangyue didn't need to study soul tool crafting, they still had to learn how to use them properly.
With Zhou Sicheng as their big brother, the equipment they received was always top-tier. These soul tools would provide a significant boost to their strength.
Long Xiangyue said proudly, "Big Brother, in this area, Second Brother can't compare to me. His martial soul is powerful, but it drains a lot of soul power. He barely has enough left to use soul tools. You should just give them all to me instead!"
Zhou Sicheng shot him a glare. "You're getting a little cocky lately. Looks like it's time for some special training."
Long Xiangyue instantly stiffened, his expression changing as he remembered unpleasant memories. He shook his head frantically. "Brother, I was wrong! I was just mouthing off! You know me, right?"
Zhou Sicheng couldn't be bothered to humor his dramatics. Turning to Cao Jinxuan, he said, "The Sun Moon Empire has developed a soul tool called the Soul Power Milk Bottle. It allows soul masters to replenish their energy at any time. It won't be long before you won't have to worry about running low on soul power anymore. But don't let that make you lazy with your training."
Cao Jinxuan's eyes lit up with joy. This kind of inside information could only come from someone like Zhou Sicheng, Shrek's golden child. Hearing this news made him genuinely happy.
If he had sufficient soul power, he would truly become an unstoppable, top-tier control-type soul master.
The power of time—mysterious and mighty!
After chatting with the two brothers for a while longer, Zhou Sicheng finally strolled out of the outer courtyard.
Back in the inner courtyard, Zhang Lexuan came to find him, looking hesitant and conflicted, unable to speak for a long time.
Eventually, Zhou Sicheng couldn't help but ask, "Senior Sister, with our relationship, you can just speak your mind."
After hesitating a while longer, Zhang Lexuan finally leaned close and whispered in his ear, "Are you… dating Xiao Tao and the others?"
Zhou Sicheng: "?"
****
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